


Five Rivers

by Overdressedtokill (SkyeStan)



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Brainwashing Mention, F/F, Fix-It, torture mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-11
Updated: 2015-05-11
Packaged: 2018-03-30 03:44:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3921676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyeStan/pseuds/Overdressedtokill
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>there are five rivers in Hades. Or, the things that Bobbi tries to get Kara to remember.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Rivers

“What do you recite?” Kara asks.  She’s curled against Bobbi’s body, dark hair brushing against Bobbi’s cheek.  “When you’re captive.  Or getting tortured.”

Bobbi snickers.  Rubs her hand against the small of Kara’s back.  “That’s morbid.”

“Yeah,” Kara says.  “But we’re in a morbid field.  And it says a lot about us, you know? What we can name.”

“I haven’t been captive in a while,” Bobbi says.  “Last time I was, I think I named my entire graduating class.”

“College?” Kara asks.

“High School,” Bobbi replies.  “More challenging, so you stay more focused.”

“Ah,” Kara say.

“What’s yours?” Bobbi asks.

Kara shifts.  Rolls into her back.  “Well, I was hoping yours would be something less... normal,” she says.  “Because now mine just sounds weird.”

“Come on,” Bobbi says.  Squeezed Kara’s hand, still wrapped tightly in her own.  “I bet it’s fine.”

Kara lets out a huff of breath.  “I name the Greek gods,” she says.  “The main ones, if I can.  Then I go by members of the Underworld.  Then the rivers.”

Bobbi laughs to herself, which earns her an elbow to the ribs.  “Hey!” Bobbi says.  “It’s funny!”

“It’s dorky,” Kara says, though Bobbi can tell she’s grinning.  “And you’re laughing at me.”

Bobbi props herself up on her elbow.  Rests firmly by Kara’s side.“I’m not laughing at you,” Bobbi says.  “You’re really smart, Kar.  You know that, right?”

“I try,” Kara replies.

“Name some of it for me,” Bobbi asks.

“Oh,” Kara says.  “Right now?”

“Yeah,” Bobbi replied.  “Show me your nerd cred.”

Kara laughs out loud.  “Oh my God,” she says.

“Come on,” Bobbi says, nudging Kara’s shoulder.  “I don’t usually go for the brainy types.  Show me what I’m in for.”

“Okay,” Kara says, gasping between peals of laughter.  “Okay, fine.  The rivers.  There’s five rivers.  There’s Styx.”

“I know that one,” Bobbi says.  “And I’m not half as nerdy as you.”

“Oh, I can do better,” Kara says, like she’s almost offended.  She isn’t, of course.  

Bobbi ghosts her hand gently along Kara’s ribs.  “Then keep going."

Kara sighs.  “Styx is the river of hate.  The damned must fight each other in the river Styx for all eternity.”

“Hardcore,” Bobbi says.  “You know.  For a river.”

Kara gives her a look.  “Next is the river Cocytus, the river of wailing.  And Phlegethon, the river of fire.”

“You really aren’t joking,” Bobbi says.  She’s somewhere between awed and fascinated and enchanted.  “You know all this stuff.”

“And,” Kara continues.  Teasing Bobbi for interrupting.  Always so coy and sure.  “Cocytus and Phlegethon lead into Acheron, the river of woe.”

“Mix fire and wailing and you get woe,” Bobbi says.  “Seems right.”

“Last is the river Lethe,” Kara says.  “Prettiest name, I think.”

“Well,” Bobbi says.  “What is it?”

“It’s the river of forgetfulness,” Kara says.  “It flows through the lair of Hypnos.  If you fall in or drink from it, you forget everything.  Your name, your family, your friends.”

“I dunno,” Bobbi says.  “I’d kind of prefer that to the river of fire.”

“Fair,” Kara says.  “I mean, I’m not sure what I’d pick.  I just recite it to recite it.”

“But it’s way more interesting than mine,” Bobbi says.

“I just read more,” Kara says.

Bobbi rolls on top of Kara.  Plants her hands beside Kara’s head.  “Was that a dig?” Bobbi asks.

Kara smiles ever so sweetly.  “If you want it to be.”

Bobbi consumes her in a kiss.

 

\--

 

Bobbi buys Kara a book of illustrated myths.  It’s for children, but the art’s pretty enough that Bobbi hopes she won’t mind.  She opts out of gift wrapping and carries it around in a bag, practically bouncing on her heels.

They might not be steady enough to buy each other presents yet, but this could be big for them.  This little book may end up meaning something more.  Bobbi thinks it says ‘I like you a lot and I care about your interests, so maybe we should go out more?’

It’s a good purchase, is what it is.  Thoughtful.  Bobbi’s very pleased with herself.

She gets the text about Hydra 20 minutes after they swipe her credit card at the bookstore.

She tells Kara she’s got a mission coming up, and cancels dinner.

The book almost stays in the bag, in her closet.  But she packs it, despite the fact that she’s going to Hydra, not to the airport.  There’s no need for it.

But it reminds her of Kara.  And she’ll give it to her, once she can come out of cover.

It’ll be their welcome back.  It’ll be how she thinks of Kara, the whole time.

She puts the book in her backpack, despite her better judgement. 

 

\--

 

She is sitting on a riverbank.  And the soil is grey and ashy, and the water is dark as blood.  And Kara is just feet away, just sitting there.

And Whitehall appears behind her, emerging from the dark.  He grabs Kara by the back of the head.  Twists his fingers into her beautiful, dark hair and pulls.

Kara makes a noise of pain, but doesn’t move to fight him off.

He drags her to the edge of the river, and holds her head to the water’s edge.

It’s at this point that Bobbi will try to scream, only to find she has no voice.  And she’ll try to move, but she can’t.  And Whitehall will shove Kara’s head into the water, as Bobbi wordlessly shrieks.

The water bubbles and Kara begins to struggle, like she’s finally noticed what’s wrong.  Like she can hear Bobbi calling her name. 

But the bubbles cease and she goes still, and Bobbi feels this terrible, terrible dread.

Every time, she thinks Kara is dead.

Until Whitehall smiles at Kara’s form, at her head under the water.  He wrenches her head back, and she takes in gasps of air.  Big, heaving gasps, as the color returns to her face.

He throws Kara to the dirt, and Bobbi watches her sprawl out against the ground.  She stares up at Bobbi blankly.  She has all of Kara’s looks but none of her light.  Kara is gone.  Kara is gone.  Kara has forgotten.

And then Whitehall is before Bobbi, and she can feel him pulling at her hair.  He throws her to the river, but it’s not water anymore, it’s fire, it’s rage, it’s sorrow and bones and she’s burning, she’s drowning, Kara’s gone-

Bobbi wakes up.

 

\--

 

She reads the book until it becomes dog-eared.  It won’t be much of a present, now.  She reads it when she can’t sleep, and she hasn’t slept in days.  She’s got it memorized, by now.  

She takes the book back with her to SHIELD.  She doesn’t take Kara.  Just the memory of her.

And, as some (every) part of her notes, that’s more than Kara even has.

 

\--

 

Kara is filling a syringe with _something_ and Bobbi’s got about the worst dendrotoxin hangover ever.  She remembers telling Kara once that she was afraid of needles.  If Kara only ever remembers that Bobbi sold her out to Hydra and is afraid of needles, it will be the perfect kind of irony.

“You really don’t remember anything about me, do you?” Bobbi asks.

“I remember enough,” Kara says.

“You don’t,” Bobbi replies.  “And I get it.  This seems like the answer.  Okay?  I hurt you.  I get it, Kara.”

“Agent Palamas,” Kara corrects her.  “And you don’t get it, Agent Morse.  You don’t, but you will.”

She sticks the needle into Bobbi’s neck fills her with whatever the first cocktail is.

Bobbi feels muscles freeze up.  Ah.  Perfect.

“Do you know how long I was up for, Agent Morse?” Kara asks.  “I mean, you will.  But I thought you might want to guess, since you know so much about torture.”

Bobbi takes a deep breath.  “What did you recite?” Bobbi asks.

“Excuse me?” Kara asks.

“When they were torturing you,” Bobbi says.  “It was the Greek gods, wasn’t it?”

Bobbi can practically feel the look Ward’s giving her from his little corner of the room.  She ignores it.  He’ll understand later.

“You know all of them in order,” Bobbi says.  “Right?  You name them in order when under pressure, to keep your mind sharp.”

“If I had,” Kara says, and there’s suspicion in her gaze.  Which is something Bobbi can work with.  Suspicion means she’s listening.  “It’s not like it did me any good.”

“And then you’d name the residents of the Underworld,” Bobbi says.  She’d pull at her bindings, if her body was working.  “The five rivers.”

Kara blinks.  “The what?”

“The five rivers of the Underworld,” Bobbi says.  “They had them in the book I got for you.  The one I was going to give to you, before.”

“Before what?” she asks.  “Before you betrayed me?  Do you really think you can just-”  Kara gestures.  “Name shit about me, and I’ll forgive what you did?”

“It wasn’t that simple-” Bobbi says.  “I didn’t- They didn’t tell me that-”

Kara looks more furious than ever.  This might have been a mistake.  This might have been a miscalculation.

But Bobbi’s got no other ideas.  “Styx. Cocytus. Phlegethon. Acheron. Lethe.”

Kara tilts her head.  “Are you?”

“Hades, Charon, Cerberus. Hypnos.  Lethe is his river, right Kara?  It goes through his lair.”

The rage falters.  Cracks.  “I don’t-”

“Persephone.  Minos.  Thanatos.  You know this, remember?  This was your thing.”

Kara shakes her head.

“Styx,” Bobbi says, as firmly as she can.  “Cocytus.  What’s next?”

“I don’t know!” Kara says.  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You’re upsetting her,” Ward says, moving out of the shadows.  “Agent Morse, you need to-”

“This torture thing isn’t helping her,” Bobbi says.  “If you want to help her, then let her tell me what the next river is.  She knows it.”

Kara looks at Ward.  Ward looks at Bobbi.  Bobbi prays that this doesn’t fuck her over.  “Phlegethon.  The river of fire.  Acheron, the river of woe.”

“Stop,” Kara snaps, turning back to Bobbi.  Her hair swooshes around her.  “Just stop!”

“This is who you are,” Bobbi says.  “You loved this.  You read all of it.  Don’t you remember?”

“That girl is gone!” Kara says.  “She’s gone, Agent Morse, and yelling rivers at me can’t make me remember-”

“What comes after Acheron?” Bobbi says.  “There’s one river left.  Just name it, Kara.  Just say it.”

“I don’t know,” Kara says.  “You said it too fast, before.”

“But you already know it,” Bobbi says.  “It’s in the book.  I’ll give it to you right after all this is over, okay?  I got it for you, anyway.”

Kara doesn’t say anything.  She just stares.  Just huffs and stares and waits.

“What’s the last river?” Bobbi says.  “Please. I’ll shut up if you answer me.”

Kara shrugs.  She’s still angry.  Livid.  But at least Bobbi’s not dead yet. “I don’t know,” she says.  “It’s... what?  Styx, Cocytus, Phlegethon, Acheron, Lethe?”

It’s natural.  It’s natural and perfect and Kara.

Silence.

Ward looks at Bobbi.  Bobbi looks at Kara.

“That’s it,” Bobbi says.  “That’s them.”

Kara swallows.  “I don’t-”

“You do,” Bobbi says.  “You do.”

“Agent Morse,” Ward says, slowly.  “Is there something Kara should know?”

Bobbi almost sighs in relief.  Almost.  “I think there just might be.”


End file.
